Rotary mop with enhanced water-wringing effect

ABSTRACT

A rotary mop with enhanced water-wringing effect, including a handle; a slide sleeve fitted on the handle, the slide sleeve being rotatable about and movable along the handle; a mop cloth, one end of the mop cloth being connected with a bottom end of the slide sleeve, while the other end of the mop cloth being connected with a bottom end of the handle, when rotating the handle and the slide sleeve relative to each other, the mop cloth is wrung. The mop further has a rotary tube fitted on the handle and rotatable about the handle. When wringing and tensioning the mop cloth, the mop cloth binds the rotary tube, not the handle. Therefore, the slide sleeve and the handle can effectively wring and dry the mop cloth with less strength.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is related to a cleaning implement, and more particularly to a rotary mop with better water-wringing effect.

FIG. 1 shows a conventional rotary wringing mop 10 including a handle 12 and a slide sleeve 14 fitted on the handle 12. The slide sleeve 14 is movable along the handle 12 and rotatable about the handle 12. One end of a mop cloth 16 is connected with a bottom end 121 of the handle 12, while the other end of the mop cloth 16 is connected with a bottom end 141 of the slide sleeve 14. In use, the slide sleeve 14 is moved to the bottom end of the handle 12. At this time, the mop cloth 16 is collapsed and suspended from the bottom of the mop 10 for mopping a ground. When it is desired to wring water out of the mop cloth 16, a user can upward move the slide sleeve 14 to straighten the mop cloth 16 as shown in FIG. 1. Then the user rotates the slide sleeve 14 with one hand and rotates the handle 12 with the other hand to wring the water out of the mop cloth 16 as shown in FIG. 2.

According to the above arrangement, the water can be hardly fully wrung out of the mop cloth 16 to dry the mop cloth 16.

Referring to FIG. 2, the bottom end 141 of the slide sleeve 14 has a larger outer diameter and serves as a main part for wringing the mop cloth 16. When wringing the mop cloth 16, an upper half U of the mop cloth is first wrung by the slide sleeve 14 and then a lower half B of the mop cloth is wrung. However, after the upper half U is wrung, the upper half U will bind the handle 12, under such circumstance, the handle is hardly to rotate and the slide sleeve is also difficult to wring the mop cloth 16. The tighter the mop cloth is wrung, the tighter the handle is bound. When a user further rotates the slide sleeve 14 for wringing the lower half B, the user must exert a great force against the binding force and frictional resistance between the upper half U and the handle 12. Under such circumstance, it will be hard to further rotate the slide sleeve 14 to wring the water out of the lower half B of the mop cloth. Therefore, the water will remain contained in the lower half B. Moreover, when wringing the mop cloth, the water will flow from the upper half U to the lower half B and accumulate therein. The lower half B serves as a main part for contacting with the ground, while the water can be hardly wrung out of the lower half B. This will deteriorate the mopping effect.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a rotary mop, which is able to effectively wring and dry the mop cloth.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a rotary mop in which the mop cloth can be wrung by less strength.

According to the above objects, the rotary mop of the present invention includes: a handle; a slide sleeve fitted on the handle, the slide sleeve being rotatable about and movable along the handle; a mop cloth, one end of the mop cloth being connected with a bottom end of the slide sleeve, while the other end of the mop cloth being connected with a bottom end of the handle; and a rotary tube fitted on the handle and rotatable about the handle.

By means of rotating the slide sleeve and the handle relative to each other, the mop cloth is wrung and tensioned to bind the rotary tube, not the handle. Therefore, a user can further rotate the slide sleeve and the handle relative to each other to effectively wring and dry the mop cloth.

When wringing the mop cloth, no binding force is applied to the handle and there is no frictional resistance existing between the mop cloth and the handle. Accordingly, a user can easily wring the mop cloth with less strength.

The present invention can be best understood through the following description and accompanying drawings wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional rotary mop;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the conventional rotary mop in a wrung state;

FIG. 3 is a perspective assembled view of a first embodiment of the rotary mop of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective exploded view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the first embodiment of the rotary mop of the present invention, showing that the slide sleeve is moved upward;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of FIG. 3, showing that the slide sleeve is moved downward with the mop cloth suspended;

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view according to FIG. 5, showing that the mop cloth is wrung;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the first embodiment of the present invention, showing that the mop cloth is wrung;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line 10-10 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a rotary tube of a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of the rotary mop of the present invention with the mop cloth removed;

FIG. 13 is a longitudinal sectional view of FIG. 12; and

FIG. 14 is a longitudinal sectional view of a fourth embodiment of the rotary mop of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Please refer to FIGS. 3 and 4. The rotary mop 20 of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a handle 30, a slide sleeve 40 and a mop cloth 50, and further comprises a rotary tube 60.

A top end of the handle 30 has a grip 32, which is integrally bent from the handle to form a reverse U-shape. The grip 32 has a lateral holding section 34.

The slide sleeve 40 is fitted on the handle 30. The slide sleeve 40 is rotatable about and movable along the handle 30. The slide sleeve 40 has an inner diameter larger than an outer diameter of the handle 30, whereby a receiving space 42 is defined between the slide sleeve 40 and the handle 30 as shown in FIG. 5. A fastening hub 45 is disposed at a top end of the slide sleeve 40. The fastening hub 45 has an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the handle 30. A fastening collar 45 is fitted on the handle 30 and screwed on the fastening hub 44. When the fastening collar 45 is tightened, the fastening hub 44 is contracted to tightly hold the handle 30. Under such circumstance, the slide sleeve 40 is positioned on the handle 30. When untightening the fastening collar 45, the fastening hub 44 is released without holding the handle 30. At this time, the slide sleeve 40 is permitted to move relative to the handle 30.

The rotary tube 60 is fitted on a bottom end of the handle 30 as shown in FIG. 5. In this embodiment, the rotary tube 60 is positioned under the slide sleeve 40 without upward extending through the slide sleeve 40. The rotary tube 60 is rotatable about the handle 30. The length of the rotary tube 60 is not limited to the length as shown in FIG. 5. A shorter or a longer rotary tube is also usable.

The mop cloth 50 includes multiple side by side arranged cloth strips 52 as shown in FIG. 6. Each cloth strip 52 is a three-layer structure including two outer fabric layers 54 and an inner (polyurethane) foam layer 55. One end of the mop cloth 50 is fixed with a flange 46 of the bottom end of the slide sleeve 40, while the other end of the mop cloth 50 is fixed with a cap 35 of a bottom end of the handle 30.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 7, in use, the slide sleeve 40 is moved downward to the bottom end of the handle 30 to suspend the mop cloth 50 therefrom. At this time, a user can use the mop to mop the ground. When the slide sleeve 40 is moved downward, the rotary tube 30 enters the receiving space 42 of the slide sleeve 40 without hindering the slide sleeve from moving downward. When it is desired to wring the mop cloth 50, the slide sleeve 40 is moved upward to stretch and straighten the mop cloth 50 as shown in FIG. 5. At this time, the mop cloth 50 can be wrung. When the slide sleeve is moved upward, the rotary tube 60 will not move upward along with the slide sleeve and will remain positioned at the bottom end of the handle 30 corresponding to the straightened mop cloth. When the mop 20 is erected or tilted, the rotary tube 60 will naturally drop to the bottom end of the handle 30 due to gravity.

Then, the user holds the slide sleeve 40 and the handle 30 with both hands respectively and rotates them relative to each other so as to wring the mop cloth 50 as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. When the mop cloth is wrung, the mop cloth is gradually tensioned and contracted. At this time, the upper half U of the mop cloth is first wrung to bind the rotary tube 60 as shown in FIG. 10. Due to the rotary tube 60 is rotatable about the handle, therefore, even though the mop cloth binds the rotary tube, when the user further rotates the slide sleeve 40 to wring the mop cloth, the rotary tube is rotated about the handle along with the mop cloth. Accordingly, the user can further rotate the slide sleeve 40 to wring the lower half B of the mop cloth as well. Therefore, the entire mop cloth can be tightly wrung and truly dried as shown in FIG. 9. Accordingly, both the upper half U and the lower half B of the mop cloth can be uniformly wrung. As the mop cloth is entirely wrung, the mopping effect will be raised.

Moreover, when wringing the mop cloth, the mop cloth binds the rotary tube, not the handle. Therefore, no binding force is applied to the handle and there is no frictional resistance existing between the mop cloth and the handle. With the rotary tube rotatable about the handle, the mop cloth and the slide sleeve are rotatable about the handle by means of the rotary tube, the user can easily rotate the handle and the slide sleeve relative to each other.

Referring to FIG. 11, in a second embodiment of the rotary mop of the present invention, the rotary tube 60′ is formed with numerous vents 62, whereby water can discharge through the vents 62 to enhance water-wringing effect of the rotary mop.

FIGS. 12 and 13 show a third embodiment of the rotary mop 70 of the present invention. The rotary mop 70 includes a handle 72, a slide sleeve 74, a rotary tube 75 and a mop cloth 76. In this embodiment, the rotary tube 75 has a length approximately equal to that of the handle 72. The slide sleeve 74 is fitted around the rotary tube 75 so as to being rotatably fitted on the handle 72. When wringing the mop cloth 76, the mop cloth 76 binds the rotary tube 75, not the handle 72. Accordingly, the rotary tube is rotated about the handle along with the mop cloth so that the entire mop cloth can be tightly wrung and truly dried with less strength.

In this embodiment, the handle 78 also has a grip 78 disposed at a top end of the handle 78. The grip 78 has a cylindrical body 781 and a holding section 782 laterally extending from one side of the cylindrical body. The holding section 782 of this embodiment and the holding section 34 of the first embodiment both serve as a force arm to facilitate rotation of the handle. By means of the holding section, a user can continuously rotate the handle with less strength.

FIG. 14 shows a fourth embodiment of the rotary mop 80 of the present invention. This embodiment is different from the above embodiments in that the mop 80 includes at least two rotary tubes 82, 83 fitted on the handle 84 and axially arranged along the handle. The rotary tubes 82, 83 are independently rotatable about the handle 84. Accordingly, when wringing the mop cloth 86, the upper half and lower half of the mop cloth respectively bind the rotary tubes 82, 83, and the rotary tubes 82, 83 are rotated about the handle 84 respectively along with the upper half and lower half of the mop cloth. The slide sleeve 88 has a receiving space 89 for receiving the rotary tubes.

In conclusion, the rotary mop of the present invention is characterized in that at least one rotary tube is rotatably fitted on the handle. When wringing and tensioning the mop cloth to a certain extent, by means of the rotary tube, the slide sleeve and the handle can be further rotated relative to each other so as to truly dry the mop cloth. In addition, when wringing the mop cloth, no binding force is applied to the handle and there is no frictional resistance existing between the mop cloth and the handle. Accordingly, a user can easily rotate the handle and the slide sleeve relative to each other with little strength.

The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present invention, not intended to limit the scope thereof. Many modifications of the above embodiments can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. 

1. A rotary mop with enhanced water-wringing effect, comprising: a handle; a slide sleeve fitted on the handle, the slide sleeve being rotatable about and movable along the handle; and a mop cloth, one end of the mop cloth being connected with a bottom end of the slide sleeve, while the other end of the mop cloth being connected with a bottom end of the handle, whereby when rotating the handle and the slide sleeve relative to each other, the mop cloth is wrung; the rotary mop being characterized in that the rotary mop further comprises: at least one rotary tube fitted on the handle and rotatable about the handle, the rotary tube being positioned between the slide sleeve and the handle, whereby when wringing and tensioning the mop cloth, the mop cloth binds the rotary tube.
 2. The rotary mop as claimed in claim 1, wherein the slide sleeve has an inner diameter larger than an outer diameter of the handle, whereby a receiving space is defined between the slide sleeve and the handle, the receiving space having an opening directed downward, whereby when the slide sleeve is moved to the bottom end of the handle, the rotary tube enters the receiving space.
 3. The rotary mop as claimed in claim 2, wherein the rotary tube is fitted on the handle without upward extending through the slide sleeve.
 4. The rotary mop as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least two rotary tubes are fitted on the handle and arranged along an axis of the handle, the rotary tubes being independently rotatable about the handle.
 5. The rotary mop as claimed in claim 3, wherein at least two rotary tubes are fitted on the handle and arranged along an axis of the handle, the rotary tubes being independently rotatable about the handle.
 6. The rotary mop as claimed in claim 1, wherein the slide sleeve is fitted on both the rotary tube and the handle.
 7. The rotary mop as claimed in claim 6, wherein the rotary tube has a length approximately equal to that of the handle.
 8. The rotary mop as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rotary tube is formed with a predetermined number of vents.
 9. The rotary mop as claimed in claim 2, wherein the rotary tube is formed with a predetermined number of vents.
 10. The rotary mop as claimed in claim 3, wherein the rotary tube is formed with a predetermined number of vents.
 11. The rotary mop as claimed in claim 4, wherein the rotary tube is formed with a predetermined number of vents.
 12. The rotary mop as claimed in claim 5, wherein the rotary tube is formed with a predetermined number of vents.
 13. The rotary mop as claimed in claim 6, wherein the rotary tube is formed with a predetermined number of vents.
 14. The rotary mop as claimed in claim 7, wherein the rotary tube is formed with a predetermined number of vents.
 15. The rotary mop as claimed in claim 1, wherein a force arm section is disposed at a top end of the handle on one side thereof. 